


Rainclouds

by BerryPaw



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 16:49:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8064307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerryPaw/pseuds/BerryPaw
Summary: The wind was only just beginning to pick up through Skyhold as Helia Adaar made her way out of the throne room and down the steps to the courtyard.  A quick stop at the garden for herbs, pick up a few small things from Bonny Sims to take to Dagna, and then back inside before the rains came. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, but it's never that simple for the Inquisitor.





	

The wind was only just beginning to pick up through Skyhold as Helia Adaar made her way out of the throne room and down the steps to the courtyard.  A quick stop at the garden for herbs, pick up a few small things from Bonny Sims to take to Dagna, and then back inside before the rains came. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, but it's never that simple for the Inquisitor.

Of course, one of the Elfroot pots had toppled over (something that no one nearby would give her a good excuse for), so she had to take some time to turn the pot right side up and carefully replant the sprouts. And another short while to get the planters up under ledges, just in case the rains were bad enough to damage them. Add in the time taken up by actually harvesting the Felandaris that she had originally come for, and her quick trip had suddenly turned into a long ordeal.  The sprinkling of rain started slowly, tickling her bare arms and running down her horns to leave cold trails down her face.  ‘ _ Better get a move on,’ _ she thought to herself, stowing her clippings in a bag strapped to her hip. Drawing a hand through her short hair, she made her way quickly back out of the garden, fighting off the instinct to shiver at the damp chill that was setting into her shoulders.

By the time that the lanky Qunari made it to the shopping stalls, Bonny was already long gone.  It would seem that the Orlesian merchant was smarter than the Inquisitor this time, having the forethought to  _ not _ be caught in the rain.  As if on cue, when Helia began to turn back to the stairs, the heavens opened up and a deluge of rain began to pour over the mountainside. She turned heel, darting for the nearest open door, water splashing up and soaking through the cloth of her boots as she sprinted into the stables.  “Shit,” she muttered to herself, resisting the urge to laugh as she leaned forward, hands on her knees, catching her breath now that the air wasn’t filled with water. “Should have seen this coming, with my luck.”

“Who is-  Oh, Lady Inquisitor.”  Her head snapped up, spotting the bearded Warden on the other side of the stables, perched on a bale of hay with a block of wood and small knife in his hand.

She stood up with a chuckle, pushing her dripping hair up off her forehead, and crossed the space between them with a few long strides. “Sorry Blackwall. I didn't mean to disturb you.” A gentle smile rested on her lips between her words. “I kind of got caught in the rain.” 

She watched as his eyes travelled down her body and back up, pausing briefly at her chest. A flush lit up his cheeks as he grunted in agreement, carefully avoiding her eyes. “You sure did, my lady.”  Helia raised her brows in mild confusion and looked down at herself. The silk of her shirt was soaked through, fabric clinging to her skin. She snapped her head back up, crimson flooding her cheeks, and violently avoided his gaze.  

“Oh sweet Andraste.  I...that is...I um,” She stammered, looking around the barn at anything and everything except Blackwall’s now grinning face. She had never been a particularly modest woman, having spent more than her fair share of time with the Valo-Kas in what the people of Skyhold would consider ‘wildly indecent’ clothing, but she felt oddly exposed under his gaze.  He moved in the edge of her vision, stepping over to a crate of his belongings, then returned, holding something out to her.  Daring a glance in his direction, she saw a dry cotton tunic in his hand.

“I haven’t got any breeches that would fit you, but this should be warmer than what you’re wearing. At least until the rain lets up.”  Quickly nodding and swiping the shirt from him, she watched him step away, first closing the wide wooden doors of the barn and then returning to face away from her, as if he were suddenly incredibly interested in his fire pit.  Her eyes stayed on his back for a moment, as if daring him to turn around.  Satisfied that he wasn’t going to, she set the tunic on a hay bale and fussed with the slippery hooks on the back of her waist cinch.  She was definitely going to have to talk to Josephine about finding someone to alter her wardrobe later.  Her fingers finally managed to get the last hook loose mere seconds before she would have given up and asked for help, thank the Maker.  That would have been embarrassing.  Her boots were equally tricky, wet buttons popping out of her fingertips every time she tried to grab them. She only managed to get halfway through the buttons before giving up and yanking them off.  

Her shirt came off with far more ease, especially with the addition of a small button to open the neckline to accommodate her horns.  She threw it to the ground with a loud  _ splat _ , resisting a laugh when she sound made Blackwall jump slightly. “Are you-”

“Just fine, Blackwall.  Just stay facing that way,” she chided, tugging at the leather lacing that held her breeches up.  Her hands fumbled as another wave of embarrassment flooded her and she trained her eyes on her toes.  She was a proud Tal-Vashoth mercenary turned into a blushing child.  Sucking in a breath, she slipped the fabric from her hips, making sure to keep her smalls securely in place.  As quickly as she could manage, she swept the tunic from its resting place and tugged it over her head.  A bit too quickly.  Her hands flailed at her head, trying to unhook the neckline from her horns, but the opening was just slightly too small.

“Shit.”

Her soft curse drew the Warden’s attention and he lifted his chin, keeping his back turned.  “My lady?”

“I might...need a hand.”  

He slowly turned to look, first chuckling at her predicament before falling silent.  Helia called his name again softly, unable to see him before her with the tunic covering her face. She only knew he was standing in front of her when she felt his broad hands running over her horns, carefully pushing the fabric off of them and pulling it down.  His hands remained on the shirt, sliding down to pull it over her hips, though his eyes stayed looking up at her, waiting for her to say something. To tell him to stop.  She wanted to, or at least knew she should, but her voice was caught in her chest.  Her skin burned as he pulled the tunic tight, his hands sliding off of the fabric and onto her bare thighs.  Then, all at once, his touch was gone and he was a few paces away, facing the fire once more.

“Apologies, my lady.  I let myself get carried away.  If I have offended you-”

“You haven’t.” Her feet carried her forward and she placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Thank you, Blackwall.  This is far better than my wet clothes, even if it  _ is _ a bit short on me.”  That was more than an understatement.  The shirt, somewhat long on its owner, was barely long enough to reach the tops of her thighs, the cuffs sitting a few inches shy of her wrists as well. She turned from him without waiting for a reaction, taking a seat on the edge of his work table.

They both were silent for a few minutes, the sound of pounding rain on the roof and the crackling of the fire drowning out any other noises that Skyhold would normally be buzzing with.  Feeling a bit out of place, Helia stood and began to gather up her strewn clothing, wringing them out as best she could before throwing them over the side of a barrel near the fire to dry.  That done, she paced across the room a couple of times, kicking at the dust and hay on the ground with her bare feet.  It was on her third pass that she noticed Blackwall watching her, a bemused look on his face.

“You’re not one for staying still, are you, my lady?”  His question was punctuated with a hearty laugh and she stopped in her tracks, rocking on her feet.

“I suppose I never have been.  There was always something to be done with my old company.  Same around here.”  Her shoulders bobbed with her own laugh.  “I can’t remember the last time there wasn’t someone telling me to do something, or even a lack of paperwork to be done.”

“You’re a hard worker.  We can all see it.  Taking a break would probably do you some good.”  Helia watched as he cleared off a box and moved it closer to the fire, patting it in invitation.  “Come.  Sit.  Warm up some.”  She took the invitation heartily, reaching out to brush her hand over his arm as she passed.  Careful to keep her legs together, she sat as primly and properly as she could on one side of the crate, if only to try to keep from embarrassing herself further.

“Thank you.  Again.  Shit.” She hung her head with a sigh. There was a laundry list of things that she would love to say, witty quips about her predicament or at least intelligent comments that would make her look slightly less like a bumbling idiot, but nothing was there when she opened her mouth.

Her back straightened and her hands tugged at the hem of her borrowed shirt as Blackwall sat on the opposite side of the crate.  “You don’t have to be the Inquisitor here.  You can just be yourself.  I’m not going to expect any more from you.”  She chanced a glance at him, the sight of a smile on his face infecting her with a small smile of her own.  Releasing the shirt with a hand, she reached out to set it on his, gently gripping it.  She hesitated, ready to pull it back, until his hand shifted and she felt his fingers slip between hers.  Without a word, she leaned towards him, tucking her head onto his shoulder with care to not prod him with her horns. They sat like this for a while, their quiet no longer awkward but comforting.  Slowly, the sound of the rain went from a roar to a trickle.  

“I should probably try to sneak back to my quarters before people start moving around again.”  Her actions betrayed her words as she made no indication that she actually intended to get up.  ‘ _ Ask me to stay.  Please,’  _ she thought to herself, lifting her head slightly to meet his eyes.

As if reading her mind, he held fast to her hand.  “No sense in that.  Why not just wait until your breeches are dry at least?”  His eyes trailed down to run over her bare legs.  “Go out like this and you’ll give one of those nobles a bloody heart attack.”

Helia couldn’t hold in her laughter, doubling over with her head in her empty hand.  “Josephine would kill me!  I swear, she’d assign me a servant to carry around an extra pair, just to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.”  She scrubbed her eyes with her palm, unable to keep tears of laughter from welling in them.

“There she is.  I knew there was someone other than the Inquisitor in there.” He nudged her arm with his elbow and gave her a smirk.  

 

“And all it took was for me to strip down to my smalls and prance around the stables for a little while.  Maybe I should do this more often.”  She elbowed him right back, still grinning from ear to ear.

 

“You’ll hear no complaints about it from me.”

**Author's Note:**

> If y'all liked this, I do have a couple of other small pieces involving Helia and Blackwall that I can post as well!  
> I also have art of both of them on my tumblr here:  
> http://berrypawsketch.tumblr.com/tagged/blackwall-x-adaar


End file.
